Day 2 started with a long bus/big van ride. Today we were heading
out to Hoa Lu and then Tam Coc. Hoa Lu is south of Hanoi and was the capital city
of Vietnam between 968 and 1009. Here we just visited what remained of the city.
It was interesting, but a little smaller than we expected after a 3 hour bus ride!
After a brief tour of that, we headed over to Tam Coc. This
was an additional 15 minutes in the van! When we arrived to this destination we
were served a mediocre Vietnamese buffet lunch. It was nothing special, but we were
pretty hungry so it did the trick. We were then shuffled across the road to get
on a boat. Now, this boat was really small and I was told I would have to be on
it for an hour! I was not all that excited at this point…sitting in van for 3 hours
and now sitting on a small boat for another hour. However, the view on the Boi River
was quite amazing. The towering limestone peaks all around were something we had
never seen! It was a great preview for Halong Bay. We snapped several pictures on
this peaceful trip. We were really amazed by the man who was rowing the boat. Instead
of using hands, he used his feet! I was impressed. There were many boats out,
but it was so quiet. It was a nice change of pace from Hanoi.
The final thing we did out here was go for a bike ride. Yes,
I Christy, went on a small boat and a bike ride! I know! I am so proud of myself.
The bike ride was something indescribable. Just to be surrounded by nature was fantastic!
We only cycled for about 30 minutes or so, but it was really nice to see another
side of Vietnam. There were only four of us on this part and it felt like we were
the only ones around…until you came across the billy goats and then the water buffalo…
It ended up being quite a day. It was a lot fun, but a lot of
traveling. Another highlight from the day was dinner. I know, shocking. We do
love to eat! Today we tried an Indian restaurant (I know we are in Vietnam, but
we love our Indian food the most!). It was the best Indian food we ever had. The
owner came out and talked to us and made some suggestions for us for the next night,
when we would return again for dinner…
Day 3 was a bit different. I think I will let Travis tell that
story!
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